SPECIALIST bankers in the UK are dwarfing the pay packets of their US counterparts with average bonuses of more than £1.5m, a report showed yesterday.

The typical £1.6m pay and bonus received in the UK compares with £1.1m in the US and £1m in Asia.

The bankers, whose pay exceeded that of their American rivals, work in the area known as exotics, which includes work transforming existing credit packages into new products.

Napier Scott, which conducted the research, said UK pay packages had a lead of up to 15% over those in the US, a reversal from 2002 when the US led by 7%.

However, the company said this situation was expected to reverse back again next year.

It also found there had been an "Americanisation" of European pay awards, with major institutions paying bonuses in stock options as well as cash.

Napier Scott chief executive, Shaun Springer, said, "The latest bonus round has witnessed the Americanisation of European pay awards with every major institution surveyed paying bonuses in stock options and cash."

Mr Springer said the reason British bankers had been able to earn so much was that European investors were investing in more sophisticated products.

This was not something which had not happened in the US over the past two years.

Napier Scott also said the effect of the weak US dollar on pay packages had been "dramatic".

It said that six and seven digit payouts were allocated to those with a recognised track record in producing large and consistent profits for their institutions.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, it emerged last week that Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Fred Goodwin had received a bonus of nearly £1m.